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“I will.” She bent and kissed Betty’s cheek. “Here. Take these. I’ve had enough for a lifetime.” She handed Betty the carton of cupcakes. “Thanks for making sure I got the message.”
“Do you think she’ll come?”Dylan asked, glancing out the window to the front yard. Shane followed his gaze, knowing he was anxious to apologize. It had been his idea to reuse the birthday banner as a gesture for Faith. They’d turned it around and scrawled a message on the back: The Walker family love Faith St. John. Now they just had to wait for her.
“I don’t know, buddy. Betty said she’d do her best, and she’s a determined woman, so I guess we just have to hope she pulls through.”
After clearing up the party, the family had gathered inside, unusually subdued. He’d caught his parents watching him several times and knew they were concerned. He couldn’t ease their minds though. They were all balanced on a razor’s edge.
“I want Faith,” Hunter said, climbing onto Shane’s knee.
Shane commiserated. “So do I.” He ruffled his son’s hair. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth? It’ll be time for bed soon.”
“Hey. Shane.” Gabby stood in front of him, and she nodded toward the window. “Look out there.” He spun around in time to see a car pull up at the curb. “Go,” she said. “We’ll stay in here.”
He nodded. “Thank you.”
He straightened his clothes and went outside, moving slowly so as not to startle her. Faith got out of the car and stared at the house. He knew the moment she caught sight of the banner flying proudly and stamped with his, Dylan’s, and Hunter’s hand prints. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she gasped.
“Hi, sweetheart.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t reach for her.
Her eyes darted from the banner to him. “Is it true? Even after today?”
“It is.” He stood in front of her, taking stock of her bare face and reddened eyes. She’d been crying, and that ripped him apart inside.
“I’m sorry for running,” she said, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “And for shutting you out. I just needed some space to think.”
“Don’t apologize.” Every single one of the painful emotions he’d experienced over the course of the day lodged in his throat. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Diana shouldn’t have said what she did. She shouldn’t even have known it, but Dylan told her about how we started out, and he’s very, very sorry.” He hoped she could hear the sincerity in his voice. Dylan was riddled with guilt over sharing what he knew with his mother.
She swallowed. “I didn’t realize he hated me so much.”
“No, baby. He doesn’t. He’s just blind where Diana is concerned. He’s furious at her, and he’s waiting inside to apologize if you feel like speaking to him.” He pointed to the banner. “This was his idea.”
“That’s sweet.” Her expression softened slightly. “Sorry about the party. I hate to imagine what your parents must think of me now.”
“Faith,” he said softly, moving closer and reaching out a hand. “My family like you. What Diana said doesn’t change that. In fact, after you’d left, Gabby tore her down in front of everyone.
“Really?” she asked, her voice small. “Betty said your family had stood up for me, but she didn’t share the details.”
He let everything he was feeling show on his face. Every bit of love he had for her. “Yes, Gabby did that. You shouldn’t be surprised. Everyone who knows you adores you. Once they got over their shock, they sided with you, but you ran off so quickly that you didn’t see it.”
He took a deep breath, ready for the biggest leap of faith he had ever taken. It terrified him, but he couldn’t stand to see her in pain, and while he feared she’d reject him because she had so much more to offer than he ever could, he was prepared to bare his soul and pray for the best.
Curving a hand around her cheek, he said, “I love you, Faith. I love you, and I never meant to bring any of this down on you, and I’m sorry.”
She blinked rapidly. “It’s not your fault. Everything she said is true.”
His heart squeezed. Was she not going to acknowledge the other part of what he’d said? The part that was far more important. “If it helps, I don’t think she’ll be staying in the bay for much longer. Even if she does, it doesn’t matter. Not to me, and not to my family. Did you hear me, sweetheart? I said I love you. I’m out of practice at this dating thing. I….” He studied the green flecks in her hazel eyes and swallowed hard. “I haven’t wanted anything for myself in so long, but I want you. I need you. And I have to believe that you love me too, whether you’ve said it or not, because otherwise you wouldn’t have gone through everything you have for my sake. You don’t have to say the words. If you need me to, I’ll believe in our love strongly enough for both of us.”
“Oh, Shane,” she sighed, and then pressed her lips to his before pulling away. The brief taste of her wasn’t nearly enough, but he suspected it was all he’d get for now. Then her lips curled up at the edges. Only very slightly, but she was trying to smile, wobbly as it may be, and hope pierced his heart. “I love you too.”
He caressed her cheekbone with his thumb and scarcely dared to breathe. “You do?”
“Yes.” A glimpse of teeth peeked from between her lips. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“Well, yeah,” he admitted. “You’re smart and funny and beautiful. I’m a tired, single dad with a bitchy ex and a son who’s not far off being a teenager.”
She shook her head. “You’re so much more than that, and I love your whole crazy family. Well, except Diana. I don’t think I’ll ever like her.”
He laughed. “Fair enough. Come inside? My parents want to see you, and I promise they don’t think worse of you for what she did.”
He half expected her to refuse, but she shrugged one shoulder. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her, tasting the saltiness of dried tears on her lips, and wished he could erase every event that had ever made her cry. “Let’s go in.”
